Chairman of KDB Bank of Korea: Every time I come to Vietnam, I feel like I'm returning to my homeland.

(Chinhphu.vn) – Chairman and CEO of the Korea Development Bank Kang Seoghoon shared this with Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai.

Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai received Mr. Kim Sung-tae, Chairman and CEO of the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) and Mr. Kang Seoghoon, Chairman and CEO of the Korea Development Bank (KDB). Photo: VGP/Tran Manh

Continuing to open a new chapter of successful cooperation in Vietnam - Korea relations On the morning of June 23, Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai received Mr. Kim Sung-tae, Chairman and CEO of the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) and Mr. Kang Seoghoon, Chairman and CEO of the Korea Development Bank (KDB). Also attending the reception were leaders of the Government Office , Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance, State Bank, etc. At the reception, Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai said: As a very important partner, Korea is ranked first in investment; second in ODA, labor and tourism; third in trade with Vietnam. To date, the total registered capital of Korean investment projects in Vietnam has reached 82 billion USD, with trade turnover in 2022 reaching 87 billion USD, an increase of more than 11% compared to 2021. For Korea, Vietnam is also the largest economic partner in Southeast Asia. By upgrading the bilateral relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership, the Vietnamese Government hopes that the two countries will continue to open a new chapter of successful cooperation, in which it is expected that Korean enterprises, including Korean banks in Vietnam, will further promote their role, actively supporting the Vietnam-Korea bilateral relationship, especially the continued good development of economic relations. Expressed his pleasure to meet the top leaders of the Korea Development Bank (KDB) and the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) on the occasion of accompanying the President of the Republic of Korea on an official visit to Vietnam. It can be said that IBK and KDB are two typical representatives of enterprises with Korean government capital during this visit to Vietnam. Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai wished Mr. Kim Sung-tae, Chairman of IBK and Mr. Kang Seoghoon, Chairman and CEO of KDB a successful business trip. Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai emphasized that the Government and people of Vietnam highly appreciate this visit of Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, marking the first visit to a country in Southeast Asia by the President; believing that the two Governments will agree on specific directions and action programs to further develop the comprehensive strategic partnership in the coming time, the good relationship that has been painstakingly built and nurtured over the past three decades.

Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai: With stable political and macroeconomic factors, an increasingly healthy business environment, and with prestigious international organizations continuing to positively assess and forecast Vietnam's economic prospects in 2023 and the coming time, Vietnam continues to be an attractive destination for international investors. Photo: VGP/Tran Manh

Vietnam continues to be an attractive destination for international investors.

Discussing the economic situation in Vietnam, Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai emphasized: With stable political and macroeconomic factors, an increasingly healthy business environment, and the fact that prestigious international organizations continue to positively assess and forecast Vietnam's economic prospects in 2023 and the coming time, Vietnam continues to be an attractive destination for international investors. Discussing economic cooperation between the two countries, Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai said that, in addition to effective and practical cooperation between the State Bank of Vietnam and the monetary and banking management agencies of Korea, it is impossible not to mention the role of Korean banking and financial institutions in Vietnam. These institutions have been operating effectively, complying with Vietnamese laws, actively supporting the increasingly developing bilateral economic, trade and investment activities. The Deputy Prime Minister acknowledged the positive contributions of KDB and IBK in their role as important bridges connecting Korean investors with funding needs for important programs and projects in Vietnam. The Deputy Prime Minister congratulated IBK on its encouraging performance in Vietnam in recent times; and highly appreciated IBK's recent expansion of its operations towards Vietnamese small and medium-sized enterprise customers, including projects in the renewable energy sector. This demonstrates the bank's strong commitment to accompanying the Vietnamese economy and is in line with the current major orientations of the Government.

Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai acknowledged the positive contributions of KDB and IBK banks in their role as important bridges connecting Korean investors with funding needs for important programs and projects in Vietnam. Photo: VGP/Tran Manh

The Deputy Prime Minister suggested that IBK continue to promote its experience and strengths, especially its important role in the small and medium-sized enterprise sector, continue to operate safely and effectively, and actively support Vietnam - Korea economic cooperation. Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai highly appreciated the fact that KDB, as one of the most successful 100% government-owned development bank models, has signed and implemented Memorandums of Understanding on cooperation with the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam to share valuable knowledge and experience, and support the Ministry of Finance in building a suitable operating model orientation to restructure the Vietnam Development Bank. Believing that this knowledge and experience have useful reference value for the process of restructuring and building an operating orientation for the Vietnam Development Bank, Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai hopes that in the coming time, KDB will continue to share its experience and support appropriate resources for the Government of Vietnam in the process of restructuring the Vietnam Development Bank.

Chairman and CEO of Korea Development Bank (KDB): "Every time I come to Vietnam, I feel like I'm returning to my homeland." Photo: VGP/Tran Manh

Every time I come to Vietnam, I feel like I'm back in my homeland.

Thanking Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai and leaders of ministries and branches for taking the time to receive the delegation, Mr. Kang Seoghoon, Chairman and CEO of the Korea Development Bank (KDB), expressed: "Visiting and working in Vietnam is not like other countries. Every time I come to Vietnam, I feel like I am returning to my homeland". The Chairman of KDB shared that last year he met the Chairman of a large US investment fund. When discussing the assessment that in the current context, which country's economy has the most development opportunities, he immediately answered: That is Vietnam. According to Chairman of KDB Kang Seoghoon, although the global economy is facing difficulties, Vietnam is still growing sustainably. Achieving such encouraging results, there is a very important role of the leaders of the Party, State, and Government of Vietnam, including Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai. Mr. Kang Seoghoon said that KDB is a bank 100% owned by the Korean Government. Under the leadership of the Korean Government, KDB has had good development. Sharing about KDB's orientation in the fields of high-tech development, digital transformation, and green energy development to respond to global climate change, the Chairman of KDB expressed his hope to have a close relationship with Vietnamese enterprises in the above fields, accompanying the roadmap to build Vietnam into a developed country. The Chairman of KDB hopes to establish a bank branch in Vietnam in the near future to share experiences and support Vietnamese enterprises to develop in the world market.

Mr. Kim Sung-tae, Chairman and CEO of Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), hopes to establish a specialized bank providing financial services to the small and medium-sized enterprise sector, thereby contributing to improving the ecosystem of small and medium-sized enterprises in Vietnam. Photo: VGP/Tran Manh

At the meeting, Mr. Kim Sung-tae, Chairman and CEO of Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), said that IBK was established in 1991, in Korea 80% of IBK's lending assets are for small and medium enterprises. In its history of operation, whenever Korea encountered economic difficulties, IBK always promoted measures to support small and medium enterprises to overcome crises. Currently, IBK is operating branches in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and promoting the process of establishing a banking legal entity. With total assets in Vietnam of about 1.5 billion USD, IBK is supporting loans for Korean enterprises in Vietnam as well as partners. IBK Chairman Kim Sung-tae expressed his desire to convert to a legal entity form to not only support Korean enterprises operating in Vietnam, but also support Vietnamese enterprises in localities, especially small and medium enterprises, thereby creating more jobs for workers, etc. IBK Chairman Kim Sung-tae emphasized that in the context of Vietnam and Korea having upgraded their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, IBK hopes to establish a specialized bank to provide financial services to the small and medium enterprise sector, thereby contributing to enhancing the ecosystem of small and medium enterprises in Vietnam as well as contributing to the development of the relationship between the two countries.

Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai hopes that Korean financial and banking institutions will proactively and actively participate in the restructuring process of Vietnamese credit institutions. Photo: VGP/Tran Manh

Hope that Korean financial and banking institutions will proactively and actively participate in the restructuring process of credit institutions.

Discussing the proposal of the leaders of KDB and IBK, Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai said: Korea is currently the country with the largest number of financial and banking institutions in Vietnam and continues to have the largest number of applications for new presence licenses. According to the report of the State Bank of Vietnam , the State Bank of Vietnam is currently processing the applications of 6 Korean banking institutions requesting new presence licenses, including IBK and KDB. All applications have been provided with written guidance by the State Bank of Vietnam on the application according to current regulations. Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai said: "At the Vietnam - Korea Deputy Prime Minister Economic Dialogue last March, I and Korean Deputy Prime Minister Choo Kyung Ho also discussed this issue. The leaders of the Vietnamese Government all acknowledged the opinions of the Korean leaders on considering and handling the dossiers of Korean policy banks such as KDB and IBK. Currently, the number of organizations in the Vietnamese credit institution system has reached 96 credit institutions and foreign bank branches, including 9 100% foreign-owned banks and 50 foreign bank branches. Since 2011, the Vietnamese Government has been strongly implementing economic restructuring, including the pillar of restructuring the financial sector, with banking restructuring being the focus. In the 2021-2025 period, Vietnam will continue to implement the Project on restructuring the credit institution system, to enhance the quality of credit institutions. quality and operational efficiency of the entire system. Accordingly, the Vietnamese Government encourages foreign financial and banking institutions to participate in the process of restructuring the system of credit institutions and handling weak banks. This will be an advantage when foreign financial institutions wish to establish a new commercial presence in Vietnam. Vietnam also hopes that Korean financial and banking institutions will proactively and actively participate in this restructuring process. The State Bank of Vietnam has also reported to the Government on the status of handling applications for licensing the establishment of commercial presence for Korean banks, especially those of the two policy banks of the Korean Government, IBK and KDB. I believe that the Government and the Prime Minister will soon have specific instructions to thoroughly resolve this issue in the coming time"./.

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